Degeneration: The Dark Force
by QueenOfBeasts
Summary: The newly degenerated Doctor takes the Ponds on another adventure, this time to the rather peaceful planet of Polimeus in the 39th century. But all is not well, as can be seen in the odd behavior of the natives. Why is a usually peaceful race turning to such violence and chaos? Team TARDIS is about to find out. Second in the *Degeneration* series. Doctor/River, Amy/Rory


**Here is the second installment of the _Degeneration_ series, _The Dark Force_! And no, the title has nothing to do with the Dark Side or the Force, or anything Star Wars related.**

** Though I wanted to wait until I had a few more chapters written, I've found that my readers (since when did I get readers?) are more than ready to see what I've got. **

**This picks up immediately after the end of _Degeneration: New Old Face_, so if you're just finding this, I think it'd be a good idea to start with that story, rather than this one. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who or any characters, devices, settings, and ect. that go with it. **

**Enjoy Lovelies!**

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With a shout of 'Allons-y', they were off. The Doctor continued to flip and pull various switches and knobs, almost like he was playing some intricate, advanced version of pinball. River, becoming exasperated with all his tomfoolery, decided to end his show early by pulling the breaks. The TARDIS immediately ceases her rocking and shaking, much to the relief of Amy and Rory. The Doctor glared at her over the console.

"What was that for?" He asked, affronted.

"I activated the blue stabilizers." She replied simply. The Doctor snorted.

"You mean the blue _boringers_?" His tone was incredulous, and he spat out the last word as if it left a bad taste in his mouth. River sighed. _Some things never change_.

There was a bit of an awkward pause after that little confrontation. Amy nominated Rory to break it by elbowing him in the ribs, to which he winced, but complied anyway.

"So, uh… where we going?" He inquired to no one in particular, but aiming for the Doctor's attention.

The Doctor didn't turn to his male companion, or show any sign of acknowledgement at that, but he did however give the man an answer.

"Don't really know. Set the coordinates to random." Amy huffed at that.

"Oh, so we could end up anywhere then? What if we land, and waitin' for us outside are a mob of weepin' angels? Or Daleks? Or, or, or, _space dinosaurs_, or somethin' weird and scary like that?" She exclaimed.

The Doctor snickered. "Come on, Amy! You don't really believe there's such a thing as space dinos?" he paused for a moment, a look of contemplation adorning his features. "Pterosaurs on the other hand…"

"Don't even finish that sentence, Raggedy Man!"

Amy seemed to freeze after that. Her eyes fell on the Doctor. It dawned on her then that he wasn't her Raggedy Doctor anymore, that the man that had been her Imaginary Friend for all those years wasn't here anymore, and this man had taken his place. Though she knew and accepted that he was still the Doctor, it was still hard for her to grasp. There was something about this Doctor's eyes that threw her, and it wasn't just the change in color. These eyes seemed to hold more pain than the ones she knew. That, or her Doctor was better at hiding it than this one. Sure, he was excitable and eccentric, same as the man she knew, but it was a different kind of excitability, a different kind of eccentricity.

A different kind of man.

Whereas her Doctor was fun-loving and childish, this new man seemed like he was always ready for adventure and a bit of running, and seemed like he could attract danger and monsters like a magnet. He also had an intensity and passion she had rarely, if ever, had seen in her friend.

The man he had been was completely alien in everything he did, from the foods he ate, to the way he dressed, and to the point that he asked _Amy_ of all people to teach him how to be a 'regular bloke'. This man, this… new, old Doctor…

He was so _human_. And it scared Amy to think that her Madman in a Blue Box could be anything less than just that.

"Amy," she heard Rory calling to her, breaking her out of her reviver. "You okay, Amy? You kinda spaced out there for a minute"

She blinked up at her husband, showing just a hint of her confusion as to what was going on, but quickly hid it behind a forced smile.

"Yeah, I'm fine. 'Course I'm fine. Why would you think I wasn't, Stupid Face?" Rory sighed in relief at her playful jib, and gave her an earnest grin. _See Rory? Nothing to worry about, just Amy being Amy._

The Doctor looked on at the married couple passively. You didn't get to be his age without being able to tell a fib from a truth, and Amy was definitely fibbing. The glassy, faraway look in her eyes hadn't gone unnoticed by him, however he could only guess at what she was thinking. Perhaps she had changed her mind, and decided she didn't want to travel with him anymore. Though back at her house she had been very accepting of him and his altered appearance, it was very possible she was having second thoughts. This worried him, frightened him, even. He had experienced the same type of situation with Rose, but even though it was rocky at the start, she had warmed up to the new him eventually. But would it be the same for Amy? Was time really all she needed? Or was he losing his sweet little Amelia Pond?

No time to think about that, though. He took a moment to give a humorless chuckle at the irony. The Lord of Time never had enough of it, it seemed.

Pushing all dreary thoughts from his mind, the Doctor made a show of preparing to land, to which the Ponds accepted as necessary and River rolled her eyes at. Now was not a time to mope about! Old body, brand new adventure!

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**So, bit of Angsty!Amy in here, as well as Doubtful!Doctor, as well As Rory!Rory and River!River.**

**I have an exclaimation point addiction. Don't worry, I'm getting help.**

**Reviews make more chapters! Especially ones with ideas in them! :D**


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